TABLE OF CONTENTS

This is a key to the Club Fungi of the Pacific Northwest (British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho). Club fungi as understood here include the upright, unbranched fungi that do not fit into other morphological groups1. There are not only clavate (club-shaped) fungi, but cylindric fungi, and upright fungi with differentiated heads. Both ascomycetes and basidiomycetes are included.

The species are divided into seven groups, the first six characterized by the color of the upper part of the fruitbody, and the last containing the stinkhorns, distinctive species which distinguish themselves immediately by their foul odor. Species that have more than one color are included in more than one color group. The key leads start at the following numbers.

Note: In the Pacific Northwest, most of these will be Clavulinopsis laeticolor. Clavulinopsis fusiformis, Clavaria gracillima, and Neolecta vitellina could look similar, but suspect C. fusiformis if fruitbodies are tall or in tight bundles or taste bitter, suspect Clavaria gracillima if the upper tips are whitish (= Clavulinopsis luteoalba (Rea) Corner), and suspect Neolecta vitellina if fruitbodies are spatula-shaped or particularly irregular, or pale yellow in color. Microscopic confirmation is straightforward.

Clavulinopsis corniculata can occasionally be unbranched (forma simplex Donk). Its spores are 4.3-7.2 x 4.3-7.2 um (similar to C. fusiformis) but the unbranched form is slender, about 1.5-2.5 mm wide and it grows singly or in small groups, whereas C. fusiformis is 2-10 mm wide and grows gregariously or densely bundled. Clavulinopsis helvola (Pers. ex Fr.) R.H. Petersen may occur in the Pacific Northwest (for example a collection at Oregon State University as Clavulinopsis helvola) and has spores that are often angular and measure 4-7 x 3.6-6 um excluding warts that are 1-2 x 1-1.5 um.

102b Dull yellow to orange or yellow-brown to orange-brown, distinct or indistinct head

SPOROCARP 1.0-15 cm x 0.2-1.0 cm, usually simple club, rarely branched once or twice near top, often more or less flattened, solid becoming hollow, often densely bundled but only rarely significantly joined together above the surface of the ground, tip usually sharp to narrowly rounded; bright yellow, top usually darker in the reddish or brownish shades especially when old, flesh yellow; base whitish, bald, minutely lined. TASTE typically bitter but sometimes mild. FRUITING densely bundled, gregarious, often in troops, on soil, usually in open areas with grasses. CHEMICAL REACTIONS spore-bearing surface gray-green in FeSO4, and orange in KOH (i.e. no effect). MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 4.8-7.5(9.2) x 4.5-7.2(9.2) um, round to very broadly ovate, smooth, slightly thick-walled, with stout conical apiculus. REMARKS also known as Ramariopsis fusiformis.

SPOROCARP 1-8 cm x 1-3 mm, slender, slightly waxy-fleshy in consistency, usually hollow through much of the club portion, top sharp to rounded, apricot to pale pinkish orange, the stem somewhat distinct in its clearer colors, top colored the same or slightly lighter than the spore-bearing part, not turning color when old or bruised, stem often with a very small, white, somewhat bristly patch at very base. TASTE none. FRUITING single, gregarious, or nearly cespitose in 2s and 3s but not bundled, on leaf or needle litter. CHEMICAL REACTIONS no color reaction with FeSO4 or KOH. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 6.0-9.2(11.9) x 2.5-4.5(5.3) um, ovate to elliptic, smooth, thin-walled to slightly thick-walled, small abrupt lateral apiculus; basidia 1-4-spored. REMARKSClavaria luteoalba and Clavulinopsis luteoalba are synonyms.

SPOROCARP Spines tapering downward from basal attachment, at first discrete, then more or less connected by a subiculum, whitish to orange, when dry pale orange to reddish. FRUITING on wood. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 4-7 x 3.5-6 um. REMARKS Recorded in British Columbia based on Corner's Supplement (1970). Mucronella flava Corner is also yellow: it has not been recorded from the Pacific Northwest but has narrower spores 4-6 x 2.5-3 um.

Mucronella pulchraA and O Ceska

104a (102b) Fruitbody with a flattened paddle-like head that extends down opposite sides of stem, common

SPOROCARP 1-8 cm high, spore-bearing upper part flattened laterally, spatula-like or oval or fan-like, running down opposite sides of stem, up to 3 cm wide, pale when young becoming pale yellow to yellow, buff, or brownish, sometimes lobed or contorted or with a notched top, the head forming a half to two thirds the height of the fruitbody; stem 0.2-1.0 cm wide, variable in shape but often thicker at base, white to colored like upper part but usually paler, smooth to finely mealy but not velvety. FRUITING scattered to gregarious or even clustered, on humus or rotten wood under conifers or occasionally hardwoods. MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores 30-95 x 1.5-3 um, variable in size, needle-like, rounded at one end, smooth, with zero to several septa, colorless under microscope but often yellow-brown in mass, the wall with a gelatinous layer swelling to 1.5-3 um thick; one-celled conidia 1-2 x 1-1.5 um may also be present or even replace the ascospores in the asci; paraphyses strongly curved or coiled or straight, colorless.

Spathularia flavida Rich Mably

104b Fruitbody NOT with a flattened paddle-like head that extends down opposite sides of stem

106b Various colors; threadlike-cylindric or less than 2 cm tall, or with pimples or pits visible under hand lens; if club-shaped then yellow-cream, if strap-like then gregarious on decaying needles and decaying male cones of Pinus ponderosa)

SPOROCARP 5-15 cm high, up to 1.5 cm wide basally, widening upward to 3.5 cm or wider, club-shaped, then top-shaped or with a depressed or perforated top; sides of fruitbody pinkish cinnamon to orange-brown or yellow-brown, the top usually brighter and yellower at least when young, sides and top smooth to wrinkled, where cut or bruised staining slowly brown; flesh white to ocher, on exposure staining slowly brown, soft becoming spongy; stem base round in cross-section, smooth, white to pallid where covered, otherwise cream color to buff or pale orange; mycelial hyphae loosely interwoven or aggregated into white to pallid rhizomorphic strands up to 1 mm wide. TASTE sweet (Methven 1990), mild to sweetish, or bittersweet, (Arora), not distinct (Castellano). FRUITING scattered to gregarious on soil and duff, under mixed conifers, July through November. SPORE DEPOSIT white, gradually yellowing during storage. CHEMICAL REACTIONS KOH cherry red to fire engine red reaction; tissue dark green in FeCl3. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 9.5-13.5 x 5.5-7 um, broadly elliptic, broadly ovate or almond-shaped, smooth, inamyloid, pale yellow in KOH. REMARKS The top is sterile, like that in C. mucronatus, whereas most Clavariadelphus species are fertile at the top. None of the Clavariadelphus species listed here for the Pacific Northwest has the cherry red to fire-engine red reaction to KOH. C. caespitosus has grayish red to dull red or cinnamon buff fruitbody with top somewhat sharp to narrowly blunt, may taste slightly bitter, and often grows in cespitose clusters. C. occidentalis has pale yellow to pinkish buff or grayish orange fruitbody with top somewhat sharp, blunt or broadly rounded. Clavariadelphus subfastigiatus has fruitbody that is pallid flesh-color to light cinnamon, with top that is blunt or broadly rounded, bitter taste, and green reaction of surface to KOH.

SPOROCARP 2-10 cm high, 0.3-1.3 cm wide in expanded upper part, club-shaped, simple or rarely branched, typically with an elongated spore-bearing head, up to 2.5 cm high, somewhat enlarged from sterile stem but not conspicuously, and roughly 1/3 to 1/2 of height of fruitbody, head yellow to red-brown or olive-brown or olive-black, punctate, stem 1-6 cm x 0.2-0.8 cm, yellow to brown-yellow or olive or dark brown, attached to Elaphomyces truffle indirectly by long, yellowish, cord-like strands. FRUITING single or a few together, associated with various Elaphomyces species, including E. granulatus and E. muricatus. MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores thread-like, multiseptate, breaking up into single-celled, cylindric, truncate part-spores 2-5 x 1.5-2 um, colorless, asci in perithecia, 8-spored before they break into part-spores. REMARKSCordyceps capitata is also attached to a truffle, but has a distinct head.

SPOROCARP 2-8 cm tall, cylindric to spindle-shaped or club-shaped, often with a longitudinal furrow, 2-6 mm wide in upper part which is orange, orange-red, orange-yellow, or orange-buff, finely roughened or pimpled by the slightly protruding perithecia, the head constituting roughly a third to a half the length, not clearly demarcated by shape from the sterile stem which is narrower (2-5 mm) and usually paler (pale orange to ocher, sometimes mottled with orange), smooth, often curved. FRUITING single to gregarious or clustered on buried pupae (or less commonly caterpillars) of Lepidoptera (both moths and butterflies). MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores 300-500 x 1-1.5 um, thread-like and many cells long, breaking into part-spores 3.5-6 x 1-1.5 um, barrel-shaped, smooth, asci 8-spored (before they break into part-spores), very long, about 4 um wide, borne in perithecia.

124a Not attached at lower end to insect or truffle, and (1) whitish to yellowish fruitbody cylindric to club-shaped, 2-4 cm x 0.5-1.0 cm, or (2) less than 2 cm high, spherical head less than 3 mm across, on sclerotium that fell from grasses

SPOROCARP 1-5 cm tall and 0.5-1.0 cm wide, cylindric to club-shaped, spore-bearing tissue in upper 3/4 of fruitbody, not distinctly demarcated by shape but different in color when mature, the spore-bearing upper area off-white when immature becoming yellow-orange when mature, the openings of the immersed perithecia about 0.1 mm across, imparting a brown color, surface dry, stem usually whitish or at least paler, flesh tough, white. FRUITING single to clustered, primarily in coniferous forests in the litter, associated with dead wood and possibly with the roots of trees. MICROSTRUCTURES part ascospores 3-5.5 x 2.5-4 um, nearly round to elliptic, colorless, 1-septate, disarticulating along septum into 16 single-celled irregularly round part-spores, smooth to slightly punctate; asci 8-spored then 16-spored, borne in perithecia; no paraphyses.

Podostroma alutaceum Michael Beug

125b Fruitbody less than 2 cm high, more or less spherical head less than 3 mm across, on damp sclerotium that formed the previous year in the panicles of various grasses and fell to the ground

SPOROCARP divided into head and stem, fertile head spherical to flattened, 1.5-3 mm, cream, ocher, orange-yellow, or pale purple, with fine dark punctation, stem 5-15 mm x 1-1.5 mm, cylindric, curving, reddish brown to pale purple, smooth, attached by a white feltwork to sclerotium on the ground, single to a few per sclerotium; sclerotium elongate, blackish, with a hard white interior, more or less cylindric with rounded ends, but usually with slight longitudinal grooves and ridges. FRUITING singly or in small clusters on damp sclerotia that formed the previous year in the panicles of various grasses. MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores 100-120 x 1 um, thread-like, smooth, colorless, multiseptate when mature after expulsion, asci 8-spored, 160 x 5 um, with parallel spores, borne in perithecia, paraphyses absent. REMARKSClaviceps purpurea is more commonly seen as the sclerotium projecting from the flowering parts of grasses before it falls to the ground. This species infects rye: if the sclerotia are eaten by cattle, or if ergot-containing rye bread is eaten by humans, a form of poisoning results called ergotism or St. Anthony's fire (hallucinations, burning feelings, gangrene). Claviceps was the original source of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), the potent psychedelic drug.

Claviceps purpurea Michael Beug

126a (124b) Ocher to ochraceous salmon head on very thin stem colored like head or paler, growing from buried ant carcass, usually around ant nests

SPOROCARP 0.8-5(10) cm tall, with thin stem and small ovoid head 2-8 mm wide, ochraceous to ochraceous-salmon, irregularly to slightly longitudinally ridged, stem 0.8-9.5 cm long and 0.5-1(2) mm wide, more or less equal, colored like the head or paler (pale yellow, sometimes white near base, or entirely white). FRUITING scattered to gregarious on ant carcasses that are often buried, usually one fruitbody per ant, usually around ant nests in the woods. MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores colorless, thread-like, colorless, smooth, multiseptate, breaking into one-celled segments, 8-10 x 1.5 um, asci 480-720 x 4-6 um, narrowly cylindric, borne in perithecia. REMARKS also known as Cordyceps forquignonii Quél.

126b Yellow brown head on thicker stem, growing from Lepidoptera larva or truffle (see both 127a and 127b if lower attachment undetected)

130a Fruitbody pale yellowish ocher to cream or dull brown with convex cap resembling that of a gilled mushroom (without gills) or a shallow cup, wider than it is tall, with margin relatively sharp rather than rounded

SPOROCARP 1.5-4.5 cm high, cap 0.2-1.2 cm wide, taller than it is wide, fleshy, ovoid to irregularly pear-shaped, cylindric or club-shaped; luteous to yellow-luteous, smooth to wrinkled, stem 0.1-0.3 cm wide in upper part, occasionally enlarged lower down, colorless to white, occasionally with red-brown stains, bald and slightly lubricous in upper part, with fine matted hairs on lower part. FRUITING gregarious, single to somewhat cespitose, in shallow water, on decaying needles, twigs, cones, or leaves or decaying material of other plants and mosses, July to September. MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores 10.5-18 x (2.5)3-4(5) um, elliptic to ovoid or broadly cylindric, one- or two-celled, inflexible, usually with a gelatinous sheath. REMARKS Redhead, who described the species in 1977, did not find Pacific Northwest collections, but one is from western Montana near the Idaho border and another from Alaska.

SPOROCARP 2-7 cm or more high, more or less viscid-gelatinous or under dry conditions appearing somewhat fleshy, color ochraceous-yellow to buff or cinnamon, often with a greenish or olive tint; cap well differentiated, 1/6 to 1/4 the height of the fruitbody, 0.8-4 cm across, convex to more or less spherical, smooth or somewhat, knobby, furrowed, or wrinkled, margin usually incurved, often lobed or wavy, underside sterile; flesh gelatinous at least in central core; stem 2-8 cm x 0.3-1.0 cm, equal or widening somewhat downward, round in cross-section or somewhat flattened, hollow or filled with a gel, colored like cap or sometimes yellower, with minute scales or furfuraceous or smooth, sometimes longitudinally furrowed or pitted, sometimes with innate greenish granules. FRUITING usually densely cespitose, or gregarious to scattered, on rich humus or sandy soil, rarely on rotten wood. MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores 16-28 x 4-6 um, cylindric to fusiform, straight or curved, ends rounded, smooth, colorless, at first 0-septate, finally 5-7-septate; paraphyses colorless, with tips enlarged, the tips agglutinated by amorphous matter. REMARKS Greenish-tinged forms approach L. viscosa, and the two may intergrade, according to Arora.

Leotia lubrica John Davis

302b Head dark green and the stem and lower surface of the cap white, yellow, or orange

SPOROCARP Cap single or rarely 2 or 3 per stem, 0.6-2.9 cm wide, becoming kidney-shaped to funnel-shaped, cleft on one side to the stem, often with markedly wavy margins, membranous and soft, dull white on upper surface, dry, silky when young, nearly smooth to wrinkled, later most becoming obscurely zoned-ridged and often minutely cottony-scaly or rough towards stem; spore-bearing surface on the underside of cap decurrent, nearly smooth but sometimes when old with low radiating wrinkles or more prominent furrows, creamy white, demarcated from stem; stem 1-3 cm x 1-3 mm, stuffed to hollow, tough, pliant, white (but when old age faintly cinnamon), velvety, a few bald except at base, base with hairs. FRUITING gregarious on mossy needle beds, cones, twigs, fern fronds, and mosses, in coniferous forest. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 6.5-9 x 3.5-5.5 microns, narrowly to broadly oval to elliptic, smooth, inamyloid. REMARKS This is anomalous among the "club fungi", but nevertheless fits the definition used here (upright, unbranched fungi that do not fit into other morphological groups).

411a Fruitbody yellowish ocher to cream or dull brown with convex cap resembling that of a gilled mushroom (without gills) or a shallow cup, wider than it is tall; growing in wet paths or ditches or other very wet places, on wet decaying wood, or other wet decaying plant debris (for description see 130a)

SPOROCARP 1-2.5cm high, often somewhat spathulate or laterally compressed toward the top, simple, lobed or branched to somewhat lacerate; pale yellowish to straw or pinkish shades, somewhat translucent, at least toward the base. FRUITING associated with algae on soil. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 5.6-8.2 x 2.1-3.5 um, smooth; basidia 4-5-6-spored. REMARKS The distinctions between this species and Multiclavula vernalis are inconsistently made by different authors, and here we follow Petersen. Note that Petersen does not make a distinction based on color or branching of the fruitbody but instead emphasizes the number of sterigmata on the basidia. He lists M. corynoides for BC, WA, and ID (as well as ON, NY, and Europe). Multiclavula corynoides was thought by Corner to be only the better developed state of Multiclavula vernalis.

SPOROCARP up to 2cm tall, unbranched, club-shaped; creamy to fleshy cream or straw-orange when fresh, dull ochraceous orange when dry. FRUITING on the ground, associated with algae or moss protonemata. MICROSTRUCTURES spores 8-12 x 2.5-3.5 microns in description but 6-12 um long in key, elliptic to narrowly oval, smooth, thin-walled, without droplets; basidia strictly 4-spored (rarely less). REMARKSMulticlavula vernalis is yet to be confirmed from the Pacific Northwest using the concepts of Petersen (see remarks under M. corynoides). There are collections at the University of British Columbia and Oregon State University, but it is not known what concepts were used.

10-80 mm high, 1-3(5) mm wide, vermiform (worm-like) to slenderly club-shaped, rounded in cross-section to slightly compressed, blunt to pointed, white when young (then ocherish-grayish), smooth, fragile, stem 5-20 mm long, often translucent. FRUITING single, in pairs or trios or less commonly in clusters, on bare soil, among grass, or in flower pots. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 7-10 x 5-9 um, broadly oval, smooth, inamyloid, colorless, basidia 2-4-spored with medallion clamp connection at their bases. REMARKSClavaria vermicularis is usually larger, grows in clusters, has the stem the same color as the club, has narrower spores, and lacks the medallion clamp connections at the bases of the basidia.

Clavaria acuta Steve Trudell

420b Not having these characters, usually attached at lower end to a sclerotium (Typhula)

SPOROCARP 3.4-30 mm high, but typically less than 10 mm high, single or in small groups from the sclerotium, head 1-20 mm x 0.4-2 mm, thread-like, cylindric, elliptic-oblong when short, becoming hollow, sharp then blunt, color whitish then flesh color or rose-pink, stem 5-20 x 0.5-1 mm, translucent white or whitish cream, then grayish or dingy brownish, downy, sclerotium 0.5-4.5 mm x 0.5-2 mm, nearly spherical, more or less flattened, smooth, drying or aging rough, sometimes irregular, pinkish orange when mature, then tawny to reddish brown or dark brown. FRUITING on dead culms and leaves of cereals and grasses, and on herbaceous stems and leaves, sclerotia in spring usually in snow cover conditions, fruitbodies in fall. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 4-15 x 2-8 um, elliptic or ovoid, smooth, white; basidia 4-spored. REMARKS This species causes the disease variously called speckled snow mold, gray snow mold, snow scald, or Typhula blight (also caused by T. idahoensis and T. ishikariensis), which can attack cereals and grasses. The name "speckled snow mold" comes from the appearance when snow is melting: patches of "mold" (mycelium) speckled with sclerotia. Typhula incarnata is also found causing a root and crown rot of wheat and barley in the absence of snow cover. Typhula phacorrhiza does not have a distinct head, and is yellowish in color. Typhula idahoensis and T. ishikariensis have different color of fruitbody and sclerotium. None of these species are characterized by the occasional digitate (finger-like) or radiate cells in the rind of the sclerotium that are found in T. incarnata if several fragments are examined.

422b White or white-grayish or brownish fruitbody, arising from amber to blackish sclerotium

SPOROCARP 3-20 mm high, (0.3)0.5-1(3) mm wide, 1-3 from each sclerotium, spindle-shaped (occasionally flattened), powdery white to watery gray or light brown, head about half to two thirds of height of fruitbody, stem thread-like, darker than the fertile part; sclerotium (0.3)0.5-1.5(2) mm in diameter, spherical to nearly spherical or slightly flattened, light brown to black, surface smooth to rough. FRUITING develops only after prolonged snow cover, it is the dominant Typhula species in Washington on winter cereals grown in formerly forested areas, it also attacks clovers, turf grasses, and several legumes and broadleaved weeds. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 7.3-9.8 x 2.6-3.7 um, digitate cells rare in rind of sclerotia, (Bruehl (1975), who says these measurements are smaller than those made by other workers). REMARKSTyphula incarnata causes the same kind of disease, but sclerotia easily distinguished by color.

SPOROCARP 20-100(140) mm x 0.5-1 mm, slightly clavate toward top, white then cream to honey-yellow to pale ochraceous-brown, elastic and tough, upper 2/3 smooth and fertile except sharp tip which is sterile, head scarcely distinguishable from stem; stem 0.3-1 mm wide, very variable in height, somewhat darker in color than head, sparsely downy, at least near base; arising from lens-shaped sclerotium 1-6(8) mm x 1.5-3.5 mm, sometimes lobed and irregular, pallid then tawny, russet or orange-brown to dark brown, fruitbodies single or occasionally 2-3 per sclerotium. FRUITING gregarious and cespitose, on decomposing fallen leaves of various hardwoods, petioles, herbaceous stems and grasses. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 11-15 x 4.5-5.5 um, cylindric-elliptic, smooth, inamyloid, colorless, (Breitenbach), 14-16 x 4.5-5.5 um (Berthier). REMARKSMacrotyphula juncea does not produce sclerotia and has smaller spores. Typhula erythropus is found in similar habitats but is shorter with a distinct club and is white rather than honey-yellow. Typhula incarnata has a more distinct head and a pinkish fruitbody.

SPOROCARP 25-40 mm high, head up to 18 mm high and 0.3-3.5 mm wide, cylindric; pale yellowish brownish (unclear whether the color in Corner (1970) refers to fruitbody or stem, but Berthier says fruitbody is yellowish), bald except for hairs at the junction with the sclerotium; stem up to 25 mm long and 0.2-0.3 mm wide; sclerotium 0.1-0.15 cm wide, nearly spherical, drying compressed and wrinkled, dark fuscous brown (blackish). FRUITING the type was on debris in conifer forest. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores similar to those of T. phacorrhiza but larger, 17-18 x 7.75-8.25 um compared with 14-16 x 4.5-5.5 for T. phacorrhiza, (Berthier). REMARKS The type, collected by R. Bandoni at Vancouver BC, was initially described by Corner (1970) as a collection of T. phacorrhiza, but there are other microscopic differences besides the spore size.

430a (424b) Slender white to translucent fruitbodies with stem slightly narrower than head, growing from light ochraceous to black sclerotium on dead stems and leaves or small twigs (For description see 428b)

SPOROCARP 3-8 cm high, black or brownish black; fertile upper part 0.5-0.75 cm wide, up to 2 cm high, 1/8 to 1/2 but usually not more than 1/5 the length of the fruitbody, generally flattened, lanceolate to spearhead-shaped to ellipsoid or somewhat spherical, usually rather sharply demarcated from stem but sometimes more like a club-shaped expansion, velvety (hairy from bristles called setae), flesh thin, tough, usually brownish, stem up to 6 cm long and 0.2-0.3 cm thick, equal, round in cross-section, velvety from setae. FRUITING single or gregarious on rotten wood, on humus, on soil, or in Sphagnum. MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores 80-195 x 5-7 um, cylindric-clavate, broadest above the middle, tapering each way to the blunt ends, brown, 15-septate at maturity in one variety, varying numbers of septa in varieties but at least a fifth with 15 or more septa, spores parallel in the ascus; asci 8-spored; paraphyses brown, cylindric, usually strongly curved, or coiled at the slightly thickened tips.

Trichoglossum hirsutum Michael Beug

504b Uncommon, 4-spored asci and spores very variable in septation with few or none 15-septate

SPOROCARP 1-7 cm high, club-shaped, compressed (flattened somewhat); spore-bearing portion 0.2-1.5 cm wide, 1/3 to 1/2 the length, dark brown, purplish black or black, stem 0.2-0.8 cm wide, round in cross-section, brownish black or black, smooth or minutely scaly. FRUITING on soil. MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores (16)20-44(52) x 4-6 um, nearly cylindric, or allantoid (curved sausage-shaped), one-celled, paraphyses not or slightly projecting beyond the asci, straight or slightly curved above, colorless, not or slightly enlarged at the tips. REMARKS Microglossum fumosum has yellowish brown to umber fruitbody. Microglossum olivaceum has predominantly brown to olivaceous fruitbody and spores mostly less than 20 um long. Geoglossum species have brown spores under microscope (G. fallax may have many colorless spores, but is brown in color), and generally spores multiseptate as well as longer. Trichoglossum hirsutum and T. velutipes have setae (bristles). Mains (1955) includes here under Microglossum atropurpureum three species of Durand that are treated as separate species of Corynetes by Seaver (1951). According to Mains, Durand separates Corynetes purpurascens from C. atropurpureus on the basis of having a more distinctly purplish tint when fresh and more abruptly thickened tips to the paraphyses, and Durand separates C. robustus from C. atropurpureus on the basis of lack of an epithecium and paraphyses slightly thickened and curved at the tips. With regard to another close species Seaver (1951) gives the paraphyses of Corynetes arenarius as conspicuously brown, as opposed to colorless or only slightly purple-tinted at tips for the other three. According to Alan Silverside at the University of Paisley, they have in Britain the same 4 species as given by Seaver under Corynetes, but the names will need to be different. It is not clear which of the members of the Microglossum atropurpureum complex are found in the Pacific Northwest. Breitenbach gives Corynetes atropurpureus (Batsch ex Fr.) Durand as synonym of Thuemenidium atropurpureum (Batsch) Kuntze. The description here is derived from Mains (1955).

508a Black fruitbody, (spores brown under microscope, (45)55-78(90) x 6-8 um; paraphyses straight or somewhat curved in upper part, closely septate in upper part where the cells may be enlarged with constrictions at the septa)

SPOROCARP 1.5-10 cm high, club-shaped, black; spore-bearing upper part 0.3-0.8 cm wide, 1/3 to 1/2 of the length of the fruitbody, flattened, stem 0.1-0.4 cm thick, round in cross-section, smooth. FRUITING scattered to crowded, on soil or also in Sphagnum or other mosses MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores (45)55-78(90) x 6-8 um, straight or somewhat curved, dark brown, mostly 7-septate in type variety, but variably septate in another variety, asci 8-spored, 150-190 x 20 um, clavate; paraphyses exceeding asci, straight or somewhat curved above, colorless or light brown in lower part, light to dark brown and closely septate in upper part, the upper cells various enlarged in different varieties and more or less constricted at the septa. REMARKS This is the Mains (1954) concept. There is considerable confusion about this name. Geoglossum fallax is brown, rarely black, and has different paraphyses. Geoglossum simile of eastern North America is separated by its paraphyses which are "closely and abundantly septate above, with the upper cells not or slightly enlarged, constricted at septa to form many oblong, ellipsoid or obovoid 2-celled segments" (Mains 1954).

SPOROCARP Up to 7 cm high, variable in size, club-shaped, spore-bearing upper part 0.1-0.5 cm wide, 1/3 or 1/2 the length of the fruitbody, somewhat flattened, dark brown to black, stem 0.05-0.2 cm wide, slender, round in cross-section, dark brown to black, sometimes somewhat viscid, bald, minutely downy or with fine particles or fine scales. FRUITING scattered or in small groups, type variety very variable in habitats, occurring among Sphagnum and other mosses, on soil in well drained areas and on wet soil by streams and in bogs, var. heterosporum on a conifer log. MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores (40)60-78(90) x 4.5-6.5 um, straight or somewhat curved, dark brown; asci mostly 8-spored, rarely less (except in variety heterosporum described from Michigan which also has somewhat shorter spores); paraphyses colorless to brown, longer than asci, "straight or strongly curved above, cylindric, not or slightly enlarged at apex, the terminal cell cylindric, narrowly obovoid or clavate," (Mains 1954). REMARKSGeoglossum simile (of eastern North America) and G. glabrum, "differ in having paraphyses that are closely septate above with the cells variously enlarged and more or less constricted at the septa", (Mains 1954). Geoglossum fallax is brown, rarely black, and has different paraphyses. The name Geoglossum nigritum is considered to have been misapplied.

SPOROCARP up to 25 mm tall with stem, the head 1.5-3.5 mm tall and 1.5-8 mm across, somewhat spherical, larger specimens somewhat flattened or depressed at center of disc, the margin of the spore-bearing area at first curved down and in and touching the stem, when old expanding to leave a gap between the stem and the margin, so that it can be hemispheric, spore-bearing upper surface deep brown to black, the underside grayish brown, stem 3-23 mm x 0.5-2 mm, round in cross-section to flattened with a longitudinal depression on one or two sides, dark grayish brown or light brown, with a paler base, bald or with fine scales. FRUITING gregarious or occasionally single, usually in disturbed habitats or in open plant communities, typically with moss, August and September. MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores (18)20-34(36) x 3-5 um, clavate, slightly curved or straight, smooth, colorless, with 0-1(3) septa, paraphyses about 2 um wide, the tips slightly enlarged to 3-3.5 um, curved or hooked, with colorless or light brown walls.

SPOROCARP up to 5.3 cm high, up to 0.8 cm wide at top, narrowly club-shaped when young, becoming club-shaped and finally often obclavate with the top very slightly expanded; top subturbinate (somewhat top-shaped), olive brown in lower part because of spore deposit, becoming blackish upwards, top dusky purplish gray to black, smooth when young to irregularly longitudinally wrinkled when older, stem 0.1-0.15 cm wide, clove brown, lighter at point of insertion and there finely bristly. FRUITING single to gregarious in groups of 2-15, on rotting debris in low conifer forest. SPORE DEPOSIT honey yellow to whitish. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 5.1-5.6 x 4.3-4.8 um, nearly round to very broadly ovate, with short, closely set sharp spines, inamyloid.

512a Cylindric to club-shaped, black fruitbodies at first covered with a whitish layer, tips may be flattened, flesh white, single or several arising from common base, stem may be absent or may be reddish

SPOROCARP 3-7(14) cm x 0.2-0.7(1.0) cm including rooting bases where present, cylindric to club-shaped, round in cross-section to highly flattened near tips, single or several arising from common base, tips sharp or occasionally rounded, fruitbody at first white (appearing white-washed), becoming black, but usually still with traces of the white layer, interior white, surface longitudinally wrinkled and roughened from protruding perithecia, the openings umbilicate or slightly papillate; long, short or obsolete stems arising directly from substrate or from reddish felty bases or long rooting bases. FRUITING on hardwood. MICROSTRUCTURES ascospores (16)17.5-22(25) x 4.5-6(6.5) um, elliptic-inequilateral to navicular (boat-shaped) or crescentic, smooth, brown to dark brown, with short, straight germ slit, immature spores have a cellular appendage; asci with long stem.

Note that other Xylaria species could occur in the Pacific Northwest such as Xylaria polymorpha, which is 0.5-3 cm thick with a short black stem, and has longer spores 20-32 x 5-10(12) um, or Xylaria longipes, with long sterile stem and spores 13-16 x 5-7.5 um, both widely distributed in North America.

BROWN

Many of the fungi colored brown have alternate colors in the other sections, and the key will refer to those sections when appropriate.

608a Growing in wet ditches or other wet or boggy areas, on wet decaying wood or other wet decaying plant debris; fruitbody yellowish ocher to cream or dull brown with convex head resembling cap of a gilled mushroom (without gills) or a shallow cup, wider than it is tall (for description see 130a)

622a Club-shaped fruitbody that is yellowish brown to cinnamon brown to darker brown, with laterally flattened upper part not much different from stem, similarly colored stem that has fine particles at first

623a Olivaceous to brown fruitbody that is club-shaped and sometimes twisted and contorted, flattened wider upper fertile part that is demarcated by color from stem, yellowish buff to gray brown smooth stem (for description see 301a)

SPOROCARP develops from spherical to ovoid egg-like structure up to 5 cm wide and up to 4 cm, which ruptures as the fruitbody grows to form a volva at the stem base; mature fruitbody 6-16 cm high, with small latticed head 1.5-3.5 cm across, spherical to somewhat flattened, with about 20-100 mostly pentagonal to rectangular windows, the latticework deep pink to red to orange, yellowish, or white, spore mass mucilaginous, dark olive to olive brown, forming on the inside surfaces of the lattice and extending out through the windows, foul-smelling at maturity; stem 5-13 cm x 0.8-3 cm, hollow, spongy, with similar range of colors to head. FRUITING single to gregarious, occasionally two from same volva, lawns, gardens, cultivated soil, mulch, open woods, on rotten wood. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 3.5-4.5 x 1.5-2.5 um, elliptic to oblong, smooth, inamyloid.

SPOROCARP develops from egg-like structure into roughly cylindric fruitbody up to 25 cm tall with stem up to 6 cm wide, with oval to conic or bell-shaped head 5-7 cm high and 3.5-5 cm across covered with dark olive foul-smelling slime, the head pitted and with a white-rimmed opening at the top, the stem 3.5-6 cm wide, roughened, white and surrounded at the top by a white, net-like, flaring veil 3-6 cm long, that emerges from beneath the head. FRUITING single or in groups on ground in forests or gardens. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 3.5-4.5 x 1-2 um, elliptic, smooth, colorless.

SPOROCARP develops from egg-like structure 2-4 cm x 1-2.5 cm, ovoid or pear-shaped; mature fruitbody 5-10 cm tall and 0.5-1.2 cm wide, erect or curved slightly, roughly cylindric or wider near top, without a differentiated cap but with a blunt often perforated tip, fertile upper 2-3 cm bright orange-red or red or pink or white, but at first with foul, slimy or mucilaginous, olive or olive-brown spore slime, stem more or less equal, hollow, spongy, colored like upper part or paler toward the base; volva at base white, lobed. FRUITING single to gregarious or clustered on ground and rotten wood in gardens or woods. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 3-7 x 1.5-2.5 um, elliptic or oblong, smooth.

SPOROCARP develops from egg-like structure just underground, 4-6 cm x 3-5 cm, spherical or elongated, the outer covering pinkish or purple or whitish, rupturing as stem elongates over 1 or 2 hours, forming a roughly cylindric fruitbody up to 25 cm tall, head 1.5-4 cm across, with whitish, reticulate (pitted and ridged) surface that becomes coated with olive to olive brown slime, the slime foul-smelling when fruitbody mature, a hole at the top sometimes covered by a fragment from outer covering, stem up to 3 cm wide, equal or widest in middle, hollow, surface sponge-like, white or lower part pinkish, volva at stem base is pale pinkish or pale purple or whitish, also a thin veil not extending appreciably below margin of fertile head. FRUITING in groups or clusters in grass, sandy or cultivated soil, on compost, under trees or shrubs; spring to late fall. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 3-5 x 1.5-2.5 um, elliptic or oblong, smooth.

SPOROCARP begins as an underground egg-like form that is spherical to obovoid, 2.5-8 cm in diameter, discoloring brownish where handled; the fruitbody ruptures from the egg, extending itself in about 6 hours, the cap in the form of a cylindric hood attached by its upper edge at the prominent collar at the top of the stem, and initially covering the opening at the stem's upper end, the hood covered on the outside with an intricate network of gill-like plates and tubercular (bump-like) processes between which the spore mass is conspicuous, olivaceous, mucilaginous, and foul-smelling, the lower margin of the hood free but initially covered by the spore mass; eventually the cap curves upward and falls to the ground, revealing the funnel-shaped entrance to the top of the stem with its very prominent collar; stem 6.5-17 cm long and 2.5-4.5 cm wide below the cap, cylindric or widening downward, spongy, hollow, may be white or pink, volva at base. FRUITING in sandy places. MICROSTRUCTURES basidiospores 3-4 x 2-2.5 um, broadly ovoid or elliptic, smooth. REMARKS rare, but recorded from WA (L. Norvell, pers. comm.)

obovate - ovate with the larger end in the opposite direction to the usual

obclavate - club-shaped (clavate) in the opposite direction to that expected

panicle - loose branching cluster of flowers, as in grasses

perithecium (plural perithecia) - a nearly spherical, ovoid, pear-shaped or beaked (flask-like) body bearing asci in the interior, with or without paraphyses, with an opening, characteristic of the pyrenomycetes such as Cordyceps, Xylaria, Claviceps, and Podostroma

phialoconidium (plural phialoconidia) - conidium that develops on a phialide, which is a cell that develops one or more locations from which a succession of phialoconidia develops toward the base without increase in length of the phialide itself

protonema (plural protonemata) - branched filament or plate-like growth on which the conspicuous part of the moss plant is produced

sclerotium (plural sclerotia) - a knot or firm frequently rounded mass of hyphae, usually underground, sometimes giving rise to mycelium or a fruitbody

senescent - deteriorated with age; becoming old

spathulate - shaped like a spatula or spoon, rounded elongate with rounded or blunt tip and with a narrowing or stalk-like base

Castellano, M., Efren Cazares, Brian Fondrick, and Tina Dreisbach. 2003. Handbook to Additional Fungal Species of Special Concern in the Northwest Forest Plan. General Technical Report PNW-GTR-572. United States Department of Agriculture.

Corner, E.J.H. 1950. A Monograph of Clavaria and Allied Genera. Oxford University Press.